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Accretive Health Is Aggressive With Its Collection Tactics

Michael Agruss

Written and Reviewed by Michael Agruss

  • Managing Partner and Personal Injury Lawyer at Mike Agruss Law.
  • Over 20 years of experience in Personal Injury.
  • Over 8000+ consumer rights cases settled.
  • Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: Juris Doctor, 2004.

Accretive Health, a hospital billing and debt collection contractor, went too far in attempting to collect medical debt while patients were still in the hospital. Accretive Health’s aggressive collection tactics cost them their right to collect debt in Minnesota for some time, and also resulted in a multi-million dollar penalty. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law (EMTALA), hospitals are required to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of a person’s s citizenship, legal status or ability to pay. If hospitals act otherwise, it may be a violation of EMTALA. According to the Star Tribune, hospitals have a duty to protect and promote each patient’s rights to be free from all forms of harassment when the hospitalized.Accretive Health has been put under fire for violating this duty with their aggressive debt collection strategies. According to the Huffington Post, the Chicago-based company will no longer be allowed to do business in Minnesota for as long as six years and will pay 2.5 million dollars to settle their federal lawsuit brought by Attorney General Lori Swanson. You must wonder how harsh were their collection methods? Well, according to one patient, Bruce Folken, while he was lying in his hospital bed, a hospital staffer carried his pants to him so he could retrieve his wallet and make a payment. This is beyond aggressive–it’s ridiculous!What should you do if these harsh tactics are applied to you or one of your loved ones while getting treated and hospitalized? First, know your rights. Know that you cannot be harassed while being hospitalized. You have the right to treatment, in an emergency, without being pushed to fill out forms or forced to make payments. Furthermore, you have protection under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The FDCPA forbids debt collectors, like Accretive Health, from harassing you over debts. If a collection agency harassed you over a debt, you may be entitled to money damages. Plus, the collection agency has to pay your attorney’s fees.If a collector called you excessively, threatened you, lied to you, called you at work, disclosed your debt to a third party, tried to collect a debt you did not owe, placed robocalls to you, or left you a voicemail message without proper disclosures, contact Mike Agruss Law, at 888-572-0176 for a free consultation. We help consumers stop debt collection harassment once and for all.

Submitted Comments

kathy
7 years ago
your calling people at 6:30 am wtf is wrong with you people

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